


Magic and Wizards and Zombies

by MoonlightTyger



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Science Fiction, Suspense, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27291970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightTyger/pseuds/MoonlightTyger
Summary: Mokuba has invited their friends to a pre-opening run of KaibaLand's latest spooky attraction, just in time for Halloween! After they're inside, however, something goes wrong, putting everyone in danger. Can their teams pull together to beat the game?
Relationships: Atem/Mana (Yu-Gi-Oh), Bakura Ryou/Ishizu Ishtar, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kujaku Mai | Mai Valentine, Kaiba Seto/Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner, Kawai Shizuka | Serenity Wheeler/Otogi Ryuuji | Duke Devlin, Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner/Mutou Yuugi, Rebecca Hopkins | Rebecca Hawkins & Mutou Yuugi
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

_Dear Readers, while I have taken certain elements from the manga-continuity and its follow-up,_ The Dark Side of Dimensions, _this fic is_ animé-continuity only _and therefore the events of that movie have no real bearing on this story._

_For this story (and the series of fics that will eventually surround it), Yami Bakura has regained his body and lives with Bakura's family; while the two are technically ancestor and descendant, they act and regard each other more like brothers. The Big Five have also been restored to their bodies. All have repented of their wrongdoings toward Yugi-tachi and the Kaiba Brothers; while Yami Bakura has by this point been accepted by the whole of the group as a friend, a few of the Five are still getting there for some members of the group ;) I base my characterizations of Yami and the Big Five off the way LuckyLadybug writes them in her YGO fanfiction-verses, as I do the concept of Domino City being in Oregon._

_Additionally, I have revived not only Atem but Mana as well. Though the two are married—a concept I am currently describing in my fic_ Sunset, Sunrise— _and have had a child together, they still think of each other more as best friends rather than romantically. They are happy with this. As I am still thinking up an in-universe explanation for why the two are back in the realm of the Living, I do not provide one in the story._

_Miho Nosaka is a character that appears in the manga as well as the infamous "Season 0"._

_Many thanks to LuckyLadybug for letting me bounce ideas off her and also for giving me so many suggestions for "Halloween-esque" Duel Monsters! :D Your help was invaluable ^_^_

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ _I do not own_ Yu-Gi-Oh! _or its characters; I am merely a fan who enjoys writing about them. All rights belong to Kazuki Takahashi. This is a work of fiction written for pleasure only,_ not _for profit._

* * *

**-I-**

* * *

"There!" Mokuba stepped back, hands on his hips as he surveyed the file cabinets with pride. He turned around, looking to where Seto sat at his desk, typing away on the laptop. "All those hard copies and forms are filed, Bro!" Seto looked up.

"Excellent," he replied. "I'm almost done here, and then we can leave." Mokuba grinned. Today had been a _long_ time coming!

Halloween was still a month away, but for Kaiba Land and its employees, the season would be in full swing no later than tomorrow. Seto and Mokuba had been extremely busy over the last two months, designing and redesigning, ordering props and decorations and coordinating events. At last, Seto closed his laptop and stood.

"Let's head out," he said. He and Mokuba descended from the main office and out into the amusement park where a little cart was waiting. As they drove along, Mokuba could see the setups for decorations as workers put everything into place. By this time tomorrow, the park would be a veritable playground of fear and fun: Frightober at KaibaLand! Scents of autumn already filled the air, and they'd come up with new seasonal menus, too: Pumpking's Pumpkin Cupcakes and Gross Ghost of Fudge Dreams, and a trio of red-berry drinks named for the trio of Vampire Duel Monsters. This wasn't even counting the usual ciders and cinnamon-flavored items that were so popular this time of year.

"Here we are!" Mokuba cheered as their destination came into view...and in front of it, a semi-large group of people.

"I still think you invited too many," Seto commented.

"Aw, c'mon Big Bro...who were we going to leave out? Rebecca helped us with the security, and Mai did some of the prototype testing. The Bakuras gave us all those ideas for creepy Duel Monsters. _You_ insisted on inviting the Pharaoh, and we couldn't leave Mana out, what with her being his wife and the _original_ Dark Magician Girl-"

"...I suppose not."

"Téa wanted to invite Miho, and Yugi and Duke and the others are all _our_ friends. Yugi and Duke are even promoting Frightober at their game shops."

"I'm surprised the Big Five decided to come, though..."

"Yeah, I kinda was, too," Mokuba admitted. "But I really didn't want to leave them out, especially since they're trying so hard to put their lives back together and everything. I mean, _we_ had a hard time in that virtual world...I can't imagine how it'd be to really be trapped there. And they did help save me from that maniac, after all..." Seto sighed, wrapping an arm around Mokuba and pulling him close. The memory of the incident was still too fresh.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Yeah, they did."

The cart pulled to a stop: a little crowd of 23 people stood in front of a cobblestone path. Lush trees and storybook landscaping lined either side, and beyond the "forest", one could make out several castle spires. Wheeler was gazing over at the pathway with an apprehensive look. Seto smirked. So, Mokuba and Valentine _had_ told him what to expect, and he showed up anyway. _This_ should be interesting. The two Kaibas disembarked, striding over to their friends.

For them, Halloween started _today._

"Hey guys," Mokuba greeted, raising his hand in a wave. "Glad you could all make it!" Bakura nodded.

"Of course! Yami and I couldn't miss this for anything!" he said. Both Yami Bakura and Yugi nodded in agreement, turning to look at the pathway before them, and the castle towers beyond.

"This is it, huh?" he asked. "That 'big project' you and Kaiba have been working on for months?"

"Months?" Lector looked over to the pathway, himself. He and the other Four had dressed in more casual clothes for the venture, sweaters and khakis as opposed to their usual suits. Kaiba was in his usual ostentatious white sleeveless trench coat, but Yugi had finally left his school uniform behind in favor of a black button-down shirt and purple boots.

(Atem and Mana were also in boots...and jackets and sweaters. Yami Bakura had worn a red hoodie. In retrospect, this didn't surprise anyone; their bodies had been restored as they had been in their first lives...and that meant the cold Oregonian weather wore on them more than their descendants.)

"Oh yeah," Mokuba grinned, rubbing his hands together. "I can't wait for everyone to see it! C'mon, c'mon—let's go!" Mokuba gestured toward the pathway, and the group began to follow him and Seto down the cobblestones. As they walked, fog began to cover the ground.

"Eh...is...is this supposed to happen?" Joey asked nervously. Mokuba laughed.

"Of course," he said. Not two minutes later, they came to a stop outside a gargantuan structure of yellowish-tan stone, the spires of which they had seen from the front of the pathway. Around the middle of it ran a huge ring-like apparatus with an enormous black circular gem in its center, and its base appeared to be a reflection of its top!

"Welcome to the Castle of Dark Illusions!" Mokuba cheered, gesturing at the building. Shrieks and cackling could be heard, and dark shadows chased each other around the tiers of the towers. Joey swallowed, inching closer to Serenity and Mai.

" _Very_ nice," Bakura commented, putting his hands together in delight. Next to him, Yami had a rather devilish grin on his tanned face.

"So, what is this, exactly?" Crump asked, looking up at the castle with as much curiosity as the Bakuras had excitement. This was right up their alley. In front of him, the Ishtars were also looking up at the structure with enthusiasm. Mokuba, no doubt, had already told them all about it.

"It's a make-your-own adventure sort of attraction," Mokuba explained. He gestured to the panel. "See? Here, you scan your LightningPass; we automatically put you in the same group based on the Pass's info. You or your group can pick from three different difficulties and five different 'scare-levels' —that way even smaller kids can enjoy it, too. Level 1 isn't really scary at all, or it has the Toon versions of some of the creepier Duel Monsters. Then the computer picks different field spells at random and generates them with our Solid Vision tech. You get a different adventure every time!

"Of course, this can all be done from the app, too...but since you're here with us, we thought you might like to pick the scare levels for yourself."

"Ah, this looks _so_ cool!" Leon said, barely beside himself. Siegfried and Seto might not like each other so much, but he was grateful the elder Kaiba had allowed Leon to join them for the pre-opening of their new attraction. SchroederCorp was building a similar amusement park in Germany, but they had decided from the get-go that its themes would be more in line with their preferences for myth and fairytale-based monsters in contrast to KaibaLand's dragons. It had been a good idea: it allowed the companies to flourish in their differences and cater to the same audience without stepping on each other's toes. Seto had little interest in Valkyries or Cinderella.

(Pegasus, of course, was happy to do business with both.)

"Indeed it does!" Solomon agreed, adventure in his eyes.

"So uh...why so tall?" Miho asked.

Mokuba grinned. "You guys _did_ bring your Duel Disks and decks, right?"

"Of course," Yugi nodded. Miho tilted her head. She was familiar with the game, of course—as were most people in Domino City and/or anyone passingly familiar with KaibaCorp—but she didn't play it all that often, and she certainly wasn't an expert player like most of the people around her. Mokuba lifted a finger.

"So...there are seven floors in all, and every difficulty has a set number of floors to beat. Easy equals two floors, Normal equals four, and Hard means you have to beat all seven. Saying 'I Surrender' cancels the game, but beat all your floors...you get a ride at the end!"

"A ride?" Ishizu asked.

"Yep! Three different rides for three different tiers of completion," Mokuba said, holding up his fingers in a V. Besides him, Seto smirked, and the rest of the group turned to the structure in varying degrees of awe, excitement, and apprehension.

"I don't know about you...but I can't wait to get started!" Yugi said. Atem looked at the structure with equal intensity, then met Kaiba's eyes with a smirk. Challenge accepted.

"C'mon, then...let's go!" Mokuba said. Seto swiped his card and the group walked down a wide hall filled with holograms and changing landscapes, playing up the "illusions" part of the name. At last, they entered a room with queuing gates and a wide pillar with several sets of doors, each with a big 'KL' logo in front of it on the floor.

"The engineering of this is quite something," Nesbitt commented. He had been wrong about many things regarding Seto; the likelihood of successfully converting a weapons manufacturer into a gaming and technology company had been one of them. They had all had their share of wrongdoings...but he had to admit it was nice to be on better terms with most everyone.

"Glad you think so," Seto remarked, still smirking. Nesbitt exchanged a look with Johnson; what was Kaiba smirking at? Then they saw it: Wheeler, pale as day, gripping Mai Valentine's hand and swallowing at the doors before them. He had not let go since they'd approached the castle.

"Okay, so stand on the markers and scan your Passes," Mokuba instructed. "The limit to one group is typically no more than ten people, but Seto and I overrode that for today. There's two groups: one with thirteen and one with twelve. Oh, and Pharaoh?"

Atem raised his eyebrows in a smirk.

"You and Seto are on _opposite_ teams," the boy said. Yugi snorted, exchanging a look with Téa and Joey. Just as they liked it. All twenty-five of them got into position, and the single-person elevator doors opened. Each had windows, and Yugi gave Téa and Atem thumbs-up as they were on either side of him.

"Roland," Seto's voice came over their radios, "start it."

"On it, Sir!"

 _One...two...three_ strobes of light...and they were cast into pitch black.

**.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.**

Yugi stepped out. Sand-colored cliffs and abandoned temples stretched out before him.

"Wow...Kaiba wasn't kidding…" he said, gazing over the solid holograms in excitement. He slapped his Duel Disk to his arm, ready for anything. "How was your ride, Téa?" No answer. Yugi's eyebrows knitted. " _Téa?_ "

"Yugi?"

"Mokuba?" Yugi walked around the "cliff" he had just exited in the direction of the boy's voice. Mokuba wore a serious expression."Huh? What are you doing on this floor? I would have thought you'd gone with your brother's group…"

"I _did_ ," Mokuba said, his own eyebrows knitting. "And what's more...Necrovalley wasn't the first level on your list...it wasn't even _on_ it…"

"Is that what this is?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Mokuba?"

"Gansley?"

"Yugi?"

"Leon?" The four quickly came over to each other. Mokuba looked at them, worry written all over his face.

"You two didn't see anyone else either, did you?" he asked. Leon shook his head.

"Nope."

"No...I got in the elevators next to Lector and Johnson," Gansley responded, also worried.

"Did you put them on the other team?" Leon asked.

"No," Mokuba said. "No...I wouldn't have separated 'em like that. Actually, I put the Big Five on _our_ team. Yugi was supposed to be with Atem, Mai, and Joey." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Seto wanted the chance to beat all of you at once…." Yugi exchanged an amused look with Leon and Gansley. Typical Seto. Then he sobered.

"So then...if you, Leon, and Gansley were supposed to be on your brother's team, but we're all here...what happened?"

"And the computer can't have just randomly screwed up the teams," Leon said, looking at Mokuba. "You said you and Mr. Kaiba had pre-programmed it with your override cards just in case of any last bugs, right? Their team's Fields were programmed to Mai's LightningPass."

"Yeah." Mokuba frowned, pulling out his phone.

"I don't have any service," Yugi frowned.

"Yeah...the Castle shorts it out; normal Guests have to sign a waiver for it when they register for anything above 'Easy'. It's meant to give you a more immersive scary experience. Seto and I, though…"—he pressed a couple things on his phone—"we have a way around that. You guys _did_ download that no wi-fi app we developed back in June, right?"

"MagnaChat? Sure did," Yugi smiled now, following Mokuba's train of thought. The boy opened the app, then put it on speaker.

"Bro?" he asked.

Static, then an answer. " _Mokuba?! Are you all right?!"_

"Yeah, I'm with Yugi, Leon, and Gansley-"

" _Just them?"_

"Yeah. What about you? Are you okay?"

" _I'm fine. Téa and Crump are with me. No one else."_

"What Field generated?"

" _Closed Forest, just like it was supposed to. Why, what's yours?"_

"Necrovalley. Yugi's T-1 was supposed to be Zombie World." A pause, and a frown. "Seto...do you think...we were hacked?"

"... _Hawkins and I checked that security several times, and all the testing came through perfectly. There_ weren't _any holes."_

"Rebecca worked on the security for this thing?" Yugi asked.

" _She's annoying, but she knows her stuff,"_ Seto answered. " _She's one of the only people who's ever gotten_ through _my safeguards."_ Yugi nodded. _And_ a great Duelist. KaibaCorp _would_ be lucky to get her onboard, and Seto was smart enough to know it.

"What's our next step, Bro?"

" _...I already tried overriding the program, and it didn't work. If Surrendering doesn't kick it off…we'll just have to play through the game and win."_

**.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.**

" _That_ app sure turned out to be handy," Téa commented, peering over Seto's shoulder as he tried once more to override the computer. "I never imagined we'd be using it for something like _this_ , though."

"You never know when another freak is going to show up," he replied irritably, putting the phone away and glaring at where the control panel _wasn't_. Téa looked around, gripping Seto's arm with her hand. She'd had an idea what she was getting into when he had first described the attraction to her, but Closed Forest was unnerving all the same.

Even more so when something was going wrong with the program.

"You _do_ think you were hacked, don't you?" she asked. His glower deepened.

"...Partially," he said. "I never would have made a mistake like this, and I didn't hire Hawkins for nothing, either. Whoever got in here knew the system." Téa's eyes widened.

"You think this was an _inside_ job?" she asked.

"I don't see how it couldn't be," he replied. He looked over at Crump. "I take it the Surrender Command didn't work?"

"No," the accountant said in annoyance as he walked back to the pair. Téa frowned. At the very least, she was no longer so averse to being on the same team as either Seto or Crump. Loneliness has a way of bringing people together, and New York had been lonelier than she'd imagined. When Seto's near-fatal accident last year had resulted in their running the NYC branch _personally_ for awhile...well, she'd always liked Mokuba, but to think she'd ever be enjoying _Seto_ Kaiba's company? Yet, she did: she was a frequent visitor at their penthouse, and sometimes their guest room.

(It was either that or let Seto wake his limo driver escort her back to her dorm, as he refused to let her take a taxi or walk home alone "in _New York City_ ". She had not been particularly happy when he'd won that argument, but she couldn't deny she found his concern touching.)

As for the Big Five...while Crump had never been her favorite—or Seto's, for that matter—their relationship had improved considerably after he and the other Four had protected Mokuba from that raging maniac some months ago. Noa's horrible virtual world had taken its toll on him, just as it had everyone else. Crump had proven himself an ally, someone willing to change.

"So...it's play the game and win?" the penguin-lover asked. "What happens if we lose?" Seto let out a growl.

"We _won't_ ," Téa said. Kaiba smirked. _That_ was the spirit!

**.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.**

"Yami?" Bakura looked around, deck ready, as he exited the elevator into some kind of castle hall. Green lightning flashed outside the windows, illuminating the skulls and bones that comprised the majority of its structures and decorations. Archfiend Palabyrinth, perhaps? That was certainly a spooky field. "Yugi?"

"Bakura?"

"Mr. Muto?" Bakura turned around, relieved that he wasn't the only one here. He had a horrible feeling that something had gone wrong. "Is it just you?"

"No," a second voice joined the fray; Marik and Ishizu came to stand with him and Yugi's grandfather. "We're here, too. But I don't see anyone else."

"Oh, dear. Weren't there supposed to be thirteen of us here?" Something _had_ gone wrong.

Marik's phone dinged. MagnaChat? Marik picked it up. "Hello?"

" _The system's been hacked,"_ Kaiba's voice came over the app. " _The overrides won't work, and the Surrender command doesn't, either. Our only choice is to beat the game. Be careful."_

The app wasn't a familiar one to Solomon, but he knew plenty about the original walkie-talkies. Just like Kaiba to develop an app that could run without wi-fi, one based on older technologies yet geared for the modern age.

"Well, between the four of us, I'd say we've got a pretty strong team if we want to beat this," Solomon said, and the other three exchanged smiles.

"Why yes," Ryou said. "I think we rather do!"

**.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.**

"Heeheehee!"

"Nyah!"

" _Broing! Broing!"_

Tristan ducked and groaned as another Dark Rabbit bounced past him, making stupid noises all the way. Of all the Field Spells Kaiba's computer had to generate, why on _Earth_ did it have to be freaking _Toon World?!_

"Take it out, Robotic Knight!"

And of all the people to get stuck with...Nesbitt _and_ Johnson?!

"Nice work, Nesbitt," Johnson said, nodding at him approvingly. "Let's continue forward."

...Well, at least they knew their strategies and Monsters. Tristan wasn't going to complain about _that_ ; he barely played the game to begin with. The Duel against Nesbitt in the Virtual World had mostly been carried by Duke, however much he hated to admit it. The Big Five really hadn't been any trouble since they'd returned to their bodies and sought out a more honest way of life. Kaiba's near-fatal accident last year had softened all parties considerably. They were on better terms these days, though Yugi, Mokuba, and the Ishtars saw more of the Five than the rest of the group did.

"So...you really think Kaiba's been hacked, huh?" Tristan asked, looking over at Nesbitt.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," he said. "I've witnessed Mr. Kaiba's tech prowess for myself. His entire company's proof of his talent. As for that Hawkins girl...KaibaCorp only hires out the best. He said they'd passed all preliminary testing; for it to short-out now? A hack-job is the only thing that makes sense."

"I'm afraid Nesbitt is right," Johnson seconded his friend. Tristan sighed. He didn't have to be a programmer to know that Nesbitt's theory was probably correct. And Kaiba had _so_ many enemies…

" _Our only choice is to beat the game."_

"Judge Man, attack!"

Tristan frowned. He only hoped that the others were having better luck than he was!

Especially Serenity!

**.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.**

"This is like the Virtual World all over again!" Serenity said, as Duke summoned another monster. And why did the computer have to generate _Zombie World_ of all things?!

"Not _exactly_ like that," Duke winked. "For one thing, we didn't have this guy on _our_ side." Lector was no shrinking violet, that much was obvious...and his Jinzo had been a lifesaver already.

"Just be thankful Mister Joey isn't here," Lector commented, picking up a Soul of the Pure. They might need it later. "You know how he'd react to _this_ Field."

"Good point," Serenity agreed, following behind the tall Southerner with Duke and Miho.

"Virtual World?" Miho repeated.

"It's a...bit of a long story, Miss," Lector said. "I'm sure Miss Serenity or Mister Duke can fill you in later." Serenity smiled; they'd come a long way in the last year. Joey and Tristan were still skeptical of Johnson and Crump—especially Joey—but Lector was nice enough.

"Now, Jinzo!"

"You too, Gradius!"

" _Seto, Rebecca and I think we've been hacked," Mokuba said over the MagnaChat. "The only way out seems to be to play through your levels and beat the game. Be careful...we don't know who hacked it, why, or what other changes they might've made to it."_

Seto had developed MagnaChat after that incident with Mokuba and the maniac; the younger Kaiba had insisted Lector and the others download it, but Serenity hadn't quite gotten around to it, and Miho had only recently reconnected with the group. Luckily for them, Lector and Duke were more proactive about such things.

Kaiba had no short list of enemies...but those who could actually _hack_ him?

"It seems to me that with Miss Rebecca _and_ Mister Seto working on it, th'only possible answer is that some wayward programmer has a bone to pick with him, an' has waited until now to strike," Lector said in his Southern drawl. Duke frowned.

"Unfortunately, that's the only thing that makes sense to me, too," he agreed. Serenity exchanged a look with Miho; the purple-haired girl didn't know _much_ , but she had learned from Téa more than a few things regarding the young CEO and his brother. She'd always regarded Seto Kaiba as something of a jerk—and, well, he _was_ —but the things the others had told her also proved he had a heart, deep down. Whatever _this_ was, she couldn't say she was sure he deserved it.

"Miho! Watch out!"

She was shoved to the side, squished. She peered past Duke's shoulder; a Goblin Zombie was just turning around, raising its blade against the group.

"Gradius!" The zombie shattered, and Serenity let out a breath of relief.

"Oh!" Serenity exclaimed, pointing to Lector's arm. "You're bleeding!"

**.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.**

"GEEZ! Could you stop scarin' me for like _five_ minutes?!" Joey yelled, glaring at Yami for the umpteenth time. "It's bad enough we' been hacked and now we're trapped in this freakshow of a Field!" He looked around at the giant floating eyes with apprehension. The old thief shrugged.

"It's not my fault you make it so easy," he said. "And should count yourself lucky. Dark Sanctuary is one Field with which I am _very_ familiar."

Actually, Joey _did_ count himself lucky for that reason. However, Bakura knew the Field as well, and at the moment, Joey would have much rather been on a team with _him_. Yami enjoyed this far too much.

"You _could_ tone it down just a little," Odion commented as Joey shivered next to Mai, who sighed. Yami shrugged again, but strode ahead, getting more of a feel for their surroundings. His own Dark Necrofear walked with him, also keeping a sharp lookout. Their last ambush, he had managed to summon her; for now, she was the strongest monster they had.

"No surprises here, Wheeler. You're safe," Yami said, still smirking at the young man. Joey's glare did not lessen.

_Crick...craaack…_

"I-is that an Earthbound Spirit monster?!" Joey squawked, pointing to where a hand and head could be seen rising from the ground, nearest Yami. He grinned.

" _And_ some Trance Archfiends!" he said, delighted. Mai growled as the monsters looked toward the group.

"Harpy Lady can take out some of the Spirits, but she can't beat the Archfiends," she said.

"Leave that to us," Odion said, nodding at Yami. Joey swallowed.

"Oh no...I ain't staying out of this fight, either," he said. "Baby Dragon!" The little dragon appeared with a happy roar. Mai slipped her hand into Joey's, and he smiled.

Between the four of them, they could beat this.

**.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.**

" _My, Kaiba, you really did outdo yourself," Atem said, stepping out of the elevator into a world where darkened skies held black clouds and a red moon. Vampire Kingdom was unnerving, to say the least, but it was_ supposed _to be!_

" _Atem?"_

" _Mana," Atem looked to his left with a smile. Then his expression changed. "Is it just you? Where are the others?"_

" _That's a...good question..." Mana said, looking around. "I thought Mokuba said we were only splitting up into_ two _groups..."_

_A shifting nearby made them tense, and Atem stood up. "Who's there?" he demanded. Another shift._

" _Yugi?!" the voice asked excitedly as its owner came into view. "Oh, no...you're the pharaoh, aren't you?"_

" _Rebecca?" Mana asked. The younger girl hurried over to them, a worried look on her face. Atem gave her a smile._

"' _Pharaoh' is another title from another time," he said gently. "I'm just 'Atem' now. You are very skilled with computers, if I recall...have you seen anyone else?"_

" _No," she said. "No, I haven't. And what's more, Vampire Kingdom wasn't supposed to be your T-1...it was supposed to be T-4. Zombie World was_ your _first level." Her frown deepened._

Rebecca's efforts to even _open_ the Control Panel for the floor were in vain, and apparently, Kaiba was having the same difficulty. The Control Panels on his floor _and_ her floor would _not_ respond, and without that, it would be impossible to access the computer.

" _There's other elevators at the end," Kaiba said. "If you can beat your floor, the illusion should disperse and you'll be admitted to the next level. Instead of getting into the elevators, go to the fire escapes. We'll meet everyone on the ground floor. Be careful."_

Today had _not_ been her day. Between seeing Yugi and Téa together and now this new hack-job... KaibaCorp wouldn't be hiring _her_ again any time soon, _that_ was for sure.

"Mr. Kaiba and myself went through all the security ourselves! There weren't any holes in it for anybody to take advantage of!" She was angry, and Atem didn't blame her. She sighed.

"I guess I failed there, didn't I? Mmm." She shut the laptop.

"I may not be nearly as skilled with computers and the like as you or even Yugi are," Atem said gently, "but my understanding is that their securities are quite like Duel Monsters: just as no card is truly without its weakness, no computer program is, either.

"Kaiba _knows_ what a skilled programmer you are, Rebecca," Atem added, giving her a reassuring smile. "If there is one thing I've learned about him after these years, it's that he doesn't settle for anything but the best. The fact that he hired you in the first place is a testament to your abilities all on its own." Rebecca gave him a sallow smile.

"Thanks, but—" Rebecca gasped. "Vampire Lady at 10 o' clock!" Atem pulled Rebecca with him as the Duel Monster charged them, her wing barely missing the former pharaoh.

"I summon Cure Mermaid!" Rebecca shouted.

"Feral Imp!" Atem shouted.

The Vampire Lady stopped and turned around, surveying the trio. Rebecca swallowed.

"Neither you nor I drew monsters that can beat her," she said, looking at Atem.

"You both—leave that to me!" Mana said, holding up her own Duel Disk. She locked eyes with her husband, who nodded.

"I sacrifice Feral Imp to call forth Dark Magician Girl!" she cried. "Dark Burning Attack!" Vampire Lady let out a shriek as the magic landed, and she shattered into nothing.

"Nice!" Rebecca cheered, looking back and forth between Mana and Atem. The pharaoh nodded. He had known Mana would come into her own one day, and she had. He couldn't be prouder.

"Indeed," he said, crossing the field with Rebecca. "I-"

"Oh, Atem!" Mana gasped, pulling him to her. "What happened to your arm?!"

"Huh?" he looked to where her hands were gently pulling apart the sleeve of his jacket: four distinct claw marks raked across his arm, red soaking into the cloth surrounding them. Rebecca drew in a breath, also surveying the damage.

"You're-you're _actually_ bleeding!" she shook her head. "No...that could only be from...and _that_ means that..."

" _Be careful!"_ Duke's voice came over the MagnaChat. " _The monsters can_ really _hurt you!"_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Yeah, so...this is the first time I've ever attempted something quite like this...and I have absolutely no idea how it's going to end up XD I don't know when it's going to be finished, either. Sorry for some of the jostling; I have a very clear picture where the timeline **as a whole** is...just not some of the finer details because I haven't written those stories yet. It's very hard to try and write a story "somewhere in the middle" without fully fleshing out a beginning and only having a general idea of an ending XD

(I'm only just getting more familiar with Duel Monsters and have only seen some episodes once, so if I made any mistakes with the Tag-Team duels, I'm sorry!)

—With the exception of Duke Devlin and the Big Five (the latter of which did not appear in _Dark Side of Dimensions_ ), they are implied to be the DSOD **character designs,** which I love.

—Part of the title comes from the original name of 'Duel Monsters': 'Magic & Wizards'. The original logo can still be seen in certain chapters of the manga, as well as in Season 0: it's on the back of the cards! The other part of the title comes from and was inspired by the book, _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_.

—The MagnaChat app that KaibaCorp invented in the story is named for the Magnet Warrior monsters, and _based_ on several real-life apps that work on similar principles. Just Google "cell phone walkie talkie app no wifi" :)

—The "Castle of Dark Illusions" attraction is an amalgamation of _several_ different ones, real-life and pretend! I will give a _full_ list of inspirations/credit at the end of the story (since others will be spoilers), but _for what you've seen now_ , Disneyland's _The Haunted Mansion_ , Takahashi's own Death-T arc from the manga itself (which I hate, actually :P), and LuckyLadybug's KaibaLand attraction _Duel Monster Days_ were all inspiration for this very involved make-believe attraction. Originally, it was only supposed to be a seasonal thing, but as I got more into it, I quickly realized that—much like "The Haunted Mansion"—it would be far too popular for Kaiba to only use once every year. So I decided to have it _debut_ for "Halloween season", instead ;)

—"Safeties" for the Duel Disks is an idea that I believe LuckyLadybug came up with, too (I like her universes, can you tell? XD). HOWEVER, given that KC's holograms are known as "Solid Vision" in the manga, it's an idea I think is well within the scope of the series. **EDIT:** She says it’s not her idea; “safeties” were shown in Season 2 ;)

— **I am setting up for Azure/Replayshipping in later stories;** this is only Peachshipping _for the time being._ I _tolerate_ Peachshipping; I don't really support it (especially not in the animé-verse where Seto Kaiba isn't a total creep). SO, if you don't like these pairings, don't keep reading.

—While Zombie World, Vampire Kingdom and Dark Sanctuary were hand-picked for their groups, the other four's were selected at random. It really was the luck of the draw that landed Tristan's group in Toon World XD

* * *

Music:

“Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah” ( _Disneyland Fun_ Sing-Along version): [ https://youtu.be/0kmdLOsAvTI?t=742 ](https://youtu.be/0kmdLOsAvTI?t=742)

“Grim Grinning Ghosts” ( _Disneyland Fun_ Sing-Along version): [ https://youtu.be/RlIYwUb4zxI ](https://youtu.be/RlIYwUb4zxI)

“Coming Home”—Sheppard: [ https://youtu.be/LyxFt9ecT28 ](https://youtu.be/LyxFt9ecT28)

“This Is Halloween”—“Citizens of Halloweentown” ( _The Nightmare Before Christmas):_ [ https://youtu.be/kGiYxCUAhks ](https://youtu.be/kGiYxCUAhks)

_— >Also check out this orchestral version of _ “This Is Halloween” _by Rob Scallon:_ [ https://youtu.be/0hH7EaGzSKo ](https://youtu.be/0hH7EaGzSKo)

“Halloween”—Aqua: [ https://youtu.be/QLfNm5iRiYw ](https://youtu.be/QLfNm5iRiYw)

“Moon Trance”—Lindsey Stirling: [ https://youtu.be/0dfZ9BXaNyE ](https://youtu.be/0dfZ9BXaNyE)

“Thriller”—Michael Jackson:[ https://youtu.be/Z85lxckrtzg ](https://youtu.be/Z85lxckrtzg)

There will be more links to more things in subsequent chapters...but they’re a surprise! ;)


	2. Chapter 2

_My apologies that this second chapter took so long! It ended up being far more involved than I intended XD_

_The Big Five's plot to murder Seto in S1 is a dub-addition only (which makes no sense, given that 4Kids removed every other reference to death that they possibly could...way to go, guys). In the original, when Seto leaves after losing to Yugi, Pegasus convinces the Big Five that the only way to save KaibaCorp is to transfer their holdings to him. They agree and say they'll vote Seto out as CEO and vote Pegasus in. One of them mentions that Mokuba has hidden the key to the safe with the documents they need, and Mokuba is subsequently invited to stay as a guest at Pegasus' castle. I have also elected to use more of Duke's manga background rather than his animé one, as the second left a lot to be desired IMO._

_Many,_ many _thanks to LuckyLadybug both for letting me bounce ideas off her, for helping me find and listing characters' cards for me, for giving me the details of the plot to take over KaibaCorp in Season 1 and confirming the details of Duke's_ manga _counterpart, too_ _! This chapter would not have been possible otherwise! :D_

* * *

**-II-**

* * *

**. : Group 1: Yugi Muto, Mokuba Kaiba, Leon von Schroder, Charles Gansley : .  
** _**Field: Necrovalley** _

"What do you mean, 'the monsters can really hurt you'?!" Mokuba cried.

"Who's hurt?!" Yugi shouted. "How serious?!"

" _Lector got cut on his arm, but he'll be all right,"_ Duke said.

" _You two take care a' my sister, you hear?!"_ Joey shouted.

" _And you, my brother,"_ Kaiba added.

"You know I will, Seto," Yugi said.

" _Atem'll probably need stitches,"_ Mana said then. " _Other than that, he's doing okay."_

" _He was protecting_ me…" Rebecca added, and they could hear the regret in her voice.

"He'd do that for any of us, Rebecca," Yugi said, trying to cheer her up. "And we'd do the same for him. But Atem, are you _really_ all right?"

"Lector?" Gansley added.

" _I'm fine, Charles,"_ he said, over the app. " _It only grazed me."_

" _I ran into much greater danger in Ancient Egypt every_ day _, Yugi—I'll be just fine, I promise,"_ Atem assured him. " _You stay safe, yourself."_

"We will," Yugi promised. "We're going to come through this, and we're going to _win."_ Mokuba put the phone down with a sigh. Once, just _once_ , couldn't he enjoy an outing with his friends in peace?! What lunatic was after them _this_ time?

"We're going to get through this, Mokuba," Yugi said. The boy smiled.

"I know." He put the phone back in his pocket, then surveyed the cliffs and empty Egyptian ruins before him.

"Well, they picked the wrong level to stick us in, didn't they?" Leon asked, looking to Yugi. " _You_ know all about Ancient Egypt!"

"That's a good point," Mokuba said, as Yugi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. The younger Kaiba looked to Leon. "Pegasus did a bunch of conceptual art for it, but the Mutos and Ishtars and Bakuras helped us design key things like traps and puzzles for it. Not just this level, either, but Yami and Mr Muto sure helped a lot with it." Atem had, too, but Solomon had studied Egyptology as a whole and explored several places in his day, while Yami had—well—robbed tombs. Atem freely admitted they would be more help for this specific level than he would, having more knowledge overall of the traps used in real pyramids. As Pharaoh, every trap in Atem's tomb had been made _for_ him.

"But," Yugi said, "whoever hacked your brother isn't likely to leave this on a 'Normal' difficulty. We'll still have to tread carefully." The four moved forward, descending from the cliffs into the virtual ruins.

"We should be encountering some monsters soon," Mokuba warned.

"Keep close," Gansley said. Yugi stayed in front, moving carefully. Above them, a cry was heard.

"Gravekeeper's Assailants!" Leon cried.

"Gravekeeper's Ambushers, too," Yugi said, looking around. "They've surrounded us...everyone, Draw!"

**. : Group 2: Seto Kaiba, Téa Gardner, Adrian Crump : .  
** _**Field: Closed Forest** _

Seto set down the phone with a grunt. On a 'Normal' setting, they'd have cleared almost half the level. But now? Seto was entirely unsure where they stood. Thousand Dragon was supposed to be the final boss for Closed Forest, but they hadn't even encountered the mini-boss yet. Safeties off, people separated...he assumed that whoever rigged this would have switched the _level_ as well….

"Don't worry about Mokuba," Téa reassured him. "You know Yugi and Gansley will guard him with their lives."

"I know," Seto replied. If he couldn't be there himself, he could hardly ask for a stronger guardian than the King of Games. Gansley wasn't a pushover, either, and Leon knew how to Duel, too. They had a strong team.

"I hope Miho and the others are doing okay," Téa commented then, walking along with him and Crump.

"Well, from the sounds of it, she's not even in Tristan's group," Seto said. She raised an eyebrow at the sarcasm in his voice. "So your little plan to rebound them didn't work."

"It's a good plan!" Téa protested.

"'Rebound' them?" Crump repeated. "Is this more drama about Miss Wheeler choosing Duke?" Téa sighed; Seto smirked.

"Well…" In truth, Téa hadn't invited her old friend along _only_ to catch up...she had heard from Yugi and Joey how badly Serenity's rejection of Tristan still stung. He and Duke were very formal with each other, and while Serenity felt awful about the situation, she could not make herself feel what she did not. In the end, it would only do them _both_ a disservice to stay together.

"You _deserve someone who will love you in the way that_ you _want,"_ Serenity had told him. " _You're an amazing guy and I_ do _love you...but it's like how I love_ Joey _. You deserve more, too, Tristan."_

He had said he understood. However, that had not really eased the pain...or the resentment. He had tried to handle it gracefully, but things had become awkward despite everyone's best intentions. Téa had wanted to rekindle things with Miho anyway, but her request to invite the girl had not been wholly for herself. Miho had only ever had eyes for Bakura in high school, but that hadn't stopped Tristan from trying. With Ryou now in a happy relationship, himself...

"It's just...I thought they could help each other heal from it, you know?" Téa said. "Please don't say anything to them; I wanted to reconnect with Miho, anyway. She was my best girlfriend in middle school and through most of high school, too. We sort of grew apart in junior year, when all of our insane adventures with the Millennium Items began. And then she moved away." Crump shook his head.

"If your friends hear about it, it won't be from me. I know how delicate these things can be," he assured her.

Seto let out a hiss. "Watch out," he said, pulling Téa with him behind a tree. Crump followed suit.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Silver Fangs—five of them," Seto said, nodding ahead. "Stay behind me. We'll send our monsters out ahead."

"Nightmare Penguin can't compete with those," Crump said.

"Not in Attack position," Seto replied, as the little suited penguin hid behind Crump. The CEO hadn't expected _that_ personality to manifest when he'd designed the program, but then he'd never made such an in-depth attraction on such a large scale, either.

Unlike regular playing cards, Duel Monsters cards were imbued with chips and other technology. It was why he'd been able to throw it and actually _injure_ that Rare Hunter during Battle City, the one who'd been holding Téa hostage while Yugi and Joey Dueled for their lives. Seto's latest addition to the chips imbued each Duel Monster with a specific, permanent Temperament once they registered for any of the VR games, much like Natures in the later _Pokémon_ games. Crump's Nightmare Penguin, evidently, was what one might call "Shy".

Seto looked from the Penguin to Téa, to the winged, green creature floating behind her. "Your Shining Friendship can take them." The little Duel Monster chirped with confidence, proudly raising the little Silver Bow that Téa had equipped earlier. Seto smirked; he hadn't expected her Shining Friendship's Temperament to be _Fiesty_ , but really…there was hardly a more appropriate personality for one of Téa's monsters. She looked at it in approval.

"So Nightmare Penguin goes out in Defense mode...we need two more monsters, though, right?" she asked. The system was an odd mix of turn-based and real-time; Téa didn't understand the full mechanics or algorithms that Seto had used to create it, but the general idea was a cross between the card game and an RPG: monsters had to take turns, but it was not so cut-and-dried as during the former. Regardless, more monsters meant a better chance of winning. Téa had not liked Nightmare Penguin when she'd faced it in the Virtual World...but this one wasn't so bad, really.

"When we go into battle, we'll all be able to draw more cards." Seto lifted his arm, Disk ready. "Let's go."

The three Duelists emerged from their spot behind the trees; the Silver Fangs growled and charged.

"Nightmare Penguin, Defense mode!" Crump called, and it obeyed. The Fang bit down...and let out a cry of distress.

"What happened?" Téa asked.

"Opponents don't have Life Points the same as they do in Duels," Seto explained. "If a monster is in Defense mode, the damage is quartered and taken out of the opposing monster's Attack power instead. On Easy mode, it's halved."

"And Hard mode?" Crump asked.

"A tenth," Seto replied, as a bar showed up above the Fang, showing that its Attack points had dropped by...180 points.

"You were right about the hacker upping the difficulty!" Crump commented. He drew a card...and smirked.

"I switch Nightmare Penguin into Attack mode and Equip it with my Penguin Sword!" The weapon appeared and the suited bird held it in its flippers, raising its Attack Points by 800. "Attack!" A swing, and one of the lupine Duel Monsters shattered into nothing. Téa turned to her own monster.

"All right! Your turn, Shining Friendship!" A second wolf shattered, and Seto drew a card.

"I summon Battle Ox in Attack mode!" he cried out, and the monster appeared on the field. A third opponent down, and Crump drew another card. Téa watched as he put it into a slot. A Trap, perhaps? The two remaining Fangs backed up, one letting out a howl. Kaiba growled.

"They're calling for backup!" he shouted.

"What's the backup?" Crump asked. Seto shook his head.

"No way to tell," he replied. "It's programmed with a randomizer; they could be calling for anything!" Téa kept close to him, watching the virtual landscape carefully. It looked like they could be in for a much harder battle than they thought!

"Vorse Raider!" Seto summoned. The monster appeared, placing itself in front of the group as three black wolves with pink flower petals appeared from the browned bushes. Crump raised an eyebrow.

"And those are?"

"Flower Wolves," Seto answered.

" _Flower_ Wolves?"

"They look ridiculous but they pack a punch," Seto said. "Even with your Sword, they outmatch your Penguin by a hundred points." He growled again. One of them had better draw a good card, and _fast_. Téa drew and Set a card facedown. If nothing else, it'd offer some protection for her and her teammates. She glanced at Crump with a smile; even a year ago, she'd never have imagined she'd be defending him or any of the Five with the same ferocity as Yugi or Serenity or Mai. Vorse Raider attacked the first of the Flower Wolves and it shattered. The second went after Shining Friendship; Téa gasped and braced herself...they were 500 points stronger than her monster!

"Activate Trap, Mirror Force!" Crump called out. An explosion of light as the wolf hit the forcefield...and the rest of the monsters vanished in it. Téa let out a sigh of relief. Seto looked at her.

"Are you all right?" he asked, grasping her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling at him. She looked to Crump. "Thank you." The businessman nodded, letting out a sigh of his own. Seto growled.

"If that thing had landed its attack, it would've destroyed it and gone straight on to _you,_ " he said. He turned toward the forest with a flap of his coat. "Let's get ourselves _out_ of here."

**. : Group 3: Marik Ishtar, Ryou Bakura, Ishizu Ishtar, Solomon Muto : .  
** _**Field: Archfiend Palabyrinth** _

"So everyone had better be _extra_ careful, then," Solomon said, after the conversation ended. They moved carefully along the grey walls, keeping to the shadows as various Fiend Monsters moved to and fro. _His_ group was strong, but what about the others? He remembered Miho from Yugi's high school days; she had been sassy and stubborn...but a Duelist? She was not. Serenity knew _more_ , but he still wouldn't pit her against anyone except a beginner. Duke and Lector were the most skilled of that group, and Solomon couldn't imagine their hacker friend leaving it at a 'normal' difficulty; they'd probably set it to the hardest level. Duke and Lector had their work cut out for them.

"Yugi and Atem will be all right," Ryou said encouragingly. Solomon laughed, then sobered.

"Oh, Yugi and Atem aren't the ones I'm worried about," he responded. "No…I was thinking of Serenity and Miho's group...Lector and Duke are the most experienced of them. I don't recall if Miho played very often; I think her family moved away sometime during Yugi's junior year."

"I _do_ recall that, now that you mention it," Ryou said. No real love had been lost on his part when she'd left. She was nice enough in her way, but like so many girls at school she had seemed more interested in his looks than in _him_. Not for the first time, he was grateful to have the Ishtars. He and Ishizu had only been dating exclusively for a few months, but Marik and Odion already treated him like a third brother. They had opened their arms to Yami, too, unwilling to refuse anyone a second chance who'd shown a real intent to improve. Yami had been corrupted by the Darkness and committed horrible acts under Zorc's influence; Marik had quite literally gone insane under his father's abuse. Both were trying to change for the better.

"Miho had quite the crush on you, didn't she, Bakura?" Solomon asked then. Marik's eyes widened, and Ryou blushed, hoping the green lights of the Field spell would conceal it.

"Did she?" Marik asked, a hint of mischief in his tone.

"...I'm afraid she _was_ a bit of a fangirl in high school," he admitted, looking rather sheepishly at Ishizu. "I never really reciprocated those feelings, and when Téa said she wanted to invite her, I didn't think it my business to tell her otherwise..." Ishizu smiled and grasped his hand.

"It doesn't bother me," she said gently.

"I meant only to tease, Ryou—really," Marik insisted, smiling to let Ryou know he meant it. The white-haired young man had done the proper thing and asked both Marik and Odion's blessing before formally courting their sister. Old-fashioned? Yes, some might consider it so. But the Ishtars _were_ , and Bakura had never bought into the idea that chivalry was dead. He would not have gone to the trouble of asking their blessing in the first place if he was not serious about his feelings for Ishizu.

Bakura returned Marik's expression, and nodded again.

"She's a nice enough girl, really," he insisted, not wishing to speak ill of anyone. "But she was always a bit...hasty for my taste. Rash." He smiled at Ishizu. "I prefer women who...see the bigger picture," he said tactfully. Marik chuckled again. His sister certainly had _that_ part covered, even without the Millennium Necklace.

"Oh...Great _Scott…"_ Bakura pointed, and the others turned: just across the way, a Summoned Skull stood.

"Do you think that could be the 'boss' of this level?" Ishizu asked in her smooth voice.

"I suppose it _could_ be…" Bakura said.

"But?" Marik asked. Bakura looked at him, then back to Mr. Muto and Ishizu.

"If Kaiba was really hacked, why would the hacker keep any of the levels the same? Why not switch it to the highest difficulty…and the highest scare level? And would we have reached the final boss already?"

"That's true…" Ishizu agreed.

"...But it _is_ a 6-star monster," Solomon commented.

"This is supposed to work more like a video game," Marik said. "Do you think we would be able to team-up and beat it?"

"It might be worth a shot...but remember what Duke said about the monsters. We don't know what else the hacker might have changed."

"We'd best approach this cautiously, then," Solomon said.

"Do you have your own Summoned Skull?" Marik asked, and Solomon nodded.

"Of course," he said. "I just haven't drawn it yet."

"What monsters _do_ we have?" Marik asked. "Revival Jam will help…" The ectoplasmic little monster jumped up and down in agreement. Marik smiled. "I just have to draw a few of its support cards."

"I suppose Change of Heart won't be much help here," Bakura said, "but I _do_ possess some Fiend-type Equip spells that could turn that Duel in our favor. With a few more battles, perhaps I could draw some?"

"Now now," Solomon said, "I have a few spells of my own! Let's circle back after a few more Duels, when we have a better chance of winning."

So they were in agreement.

**. : Group 4: Tristan Taylor, Robert Nesbitt, Thomas Johnson : .  
** _**Field: Toon World** _

Tristan didn't want to admit it, but after two rescues by Nesbitt-

"Tristan, duck! Judge Man, attack!"

-and now a third by Johnson, he had to: he was lucky. Perhaps, _just_ perhaps...these two _had_ changed for the better.

(Of course Yugi had been right. Of course Téa had been right. They always were. In matters of the heart, none were wiser.)

"Uh...thanks. _Again,"_ Tristan murmured, scratching the back of his head at Johnson's intervention. "So...if Kaiba's been hacked, do you know who's responsible?" The lawyer shrugged.

"Hard to say," he said. "Businessmen have enemies. And Mr Kaiba can be quite ruthless." Seto had mellowed significantly after his accident—the Big Five knew quite well how near-fatal experiences could do that to people—but his arrogance could still be palpable, if less often than it was before.

"It may very well be that we're just caught in the crosshairs," Nesbitt commented. He frowned, exchanging a look with Johnson; he supposed it was karma, given what they and the other Three had put these kids through in the Virtual World. They had repented and tried since then to make right, but some—like Joey and Tristan—were slow to forgive and even slower to trust. Neither Johnson nor Nesbitt could blame the now-19-year-olds, but that didn't mean the contrast between their attitudes and Yugi's didn't bother the businessmen...especially when Joey and Tristan seemed to be okay around Lector.

All the more reason to have the kid's back _now._

"Does this darn music ever _stop?!"_ Tristan shouted, as another Toon bounced by. He blasted it with Cyber Commander.

"I mean...it's a bit ominous _,_ but it's not the worst or scariest thing I've ever heard," Johnson said, adjusting his glasses. Tristan glowered.

"That's 'cause you guys weren't there when Pegasus was still a loon," he said. "He'd hide behind his cartoons and _this_ castle like a coward...any time we thought Kaiba had a leg up those stupid monsters would just jump back in the book and _this_ tune was playing the whole time it was on the field!" If he were honest with himself, Tristan found it surprising that _Kaiba_ had recreated the thing at all. Tristan would've thought he'd have PTSD from Dark Rabbit alone.

...Then again, Kaiba really wasn't one to let a pesky detail like that get him down. Toon World was bound to be popular with the kids, and 'popular' meant more money in the CEO's already deep coffers.

"...We didn't know Pegasus was intending to do _that_ to Mokuba when we made the agreement with him," Nesbitt said, frowning. "When Mr Kaiba just up and disappeared after his loss to Yugi, stocks were down and he'd already broken all his promises to us."

"We thought we were saving the company," Johnson added.

"Pegasus locked Mokuba up in a dungeon," Tristan said indignantly, and Johnson paled. He had done some slimy things in his time, but there were certain lines even he wouldn't have crossed. Seto he could take or leave—or he _could_ have done so at the time; they were all on much better terms now—but Mokuba had always been very sweet to everybody. Johnson felt sick at what they'd sent that boy to.

...Did Lector know? Of all the Five, Lector had always been closest to the Kaibas, particularly the younger. Would he have told them if he did know the full truth, or would he keep it to himself, hoping to spare his brothers-in-arms the shame and pain of what their actions helped cause?

"Mokuba has never told us what happened to him on Pegasus' island," Nesbitt said at last. Tristan was surprised to hear genuine sorrow in the man's tone. He recalled what Yugi and Serenity had said: Nesbitt had trouble processing emotions. He tended to bottle things up until they exploded of their own accord, a handicap wrought of a childhood spent attempting to live up to others' expectations and over-imposing parents who could not seem to widen their viewpoint beyond a narrow field. This was no excuse for his behavior in the Virtual World, of course, but for his struggles in other areas... _that_ , Tristan could identify with.

Serenity had been one of the first to forgive the man, despite his great wrongs against her and her friends, something Nesbitt seemed endlessly grateful for and alternatively confused by. Indeed...his actions in the recent present would indicate that those of the past had truly been wrought of desperation rather than malevolence. Otherwise, he would not be so openly sorrowful.

...Perhaps saving Mokuba had _not_ been a ploy to get back into Seto's good graces?

Nesbitt was gesturing them forward. "It looks like there's no more surprises for now. Let's go."

Tristan frowned, then followed. Yugi _had_ been right again.

**. : Group 5: Duke Devlin, Serenity Wheeler, Miho Nosaka, Démas Lector : .  
** _**Field: Zombie World** _

"Are you _really_ all right, Lector?" Serenity asked, following along with Duke and Miho through yet more dead weeds and gravestones.

"I had worse growing up in New Orleans," he replied. "Don't you worry 'bout me. I'll be just fine." Kaiba's tech could imitate a LOT, but he was fairly certain his cut from the Goblin Zombie was no more lethal than a bad cat-scratch. Lector was more concerned at what no safeties would mean in the long run...especially for the Kaibas themselves.

' _Please, Yugi...keep Mokuba safe."_ If experience was anything to go by—and it often was—who was to say that their hacker friend wouldn't use Mokuba to get at his brother? Without the safeties in place, who knew what these holograms could be capable of?

"You're worried about everyone else, aren't you?" Serenity asked, and Lector frowned. He offered her a hand as they climbed over a virtual log and rounded another gravestone, this one protected by a waist-high metal fence. He surveyed their next leg of the World. So far, so good, but that could change at any time.

"From what I've heard, the groups are mostly pretty strong," Lector answered Serenity, then turned to offer Miho a hand as well.

' _Ever the gentleman,'_ Duke smiled, bringing up the rear. Tristan could think what he wanted. For his part, Duke did not regret giving the Big Five another chance. He knew how someone in a desperate situation could make very large mistakes, and anyone under Noa Kaiba's vicious thumb would have cracked eventually. Duke's own father had been cruel as well, and he in turn had been cruel to Yugi and his innocent friends in order to please the man. Duke did not have the right to deny anyone a second chance when he had made similar mistakes, himself.

"These monsters are the least of my worries," Lector was saying now. "But _why_ has Mr Kaiba been hacked _now?_ And what are they after? And what—or who—will they use to try and get it?"

"You're thinking about Mokuba," Duke realized, while Miho looked back and forth between them.

"You think they might try and harm him to get at his brother?" she asked. She'd read about a few of the kidnappings...she distinctly remembered two that took place during their junior year in high school. Rumor had it that Maximillion Pegasus was responsible for one of them...but that didn't make sense, did it? KaibaCorp was still doing business with them...building entire theme parks around _his_ card game. And who would go to the trouble to start such a preposterous rumor? Surely a man like Pegasus didn't _need_ to commit such atrocities; he was already rich enough to do whatever he wanted!

Although...since coming back home, it seemed a lot of strange things had developed (strange even for Domino). Yugi's Egyptian cousin Atem, who carried himself like a king and spoke as though he was from another time...and his bubbly wife, who reminded Miho of...something, but she couldn't quite place _what_...

Miho shook her head. She'd ask Téa about it later. She and the Kaibas weren't flying back to New York until Sunday afternoon. Also...what _was_ with Téa and the Kaibas? Wasn't she dating Yugi?

"Dragon Zombie at two o' clock!" Serenity shouted, and Duke stepped in front of her. She wasn't getting clipped by that thing, not on _his_ watch! Lector likewise kept himself in front, as well.

"There's more of them!" Miho gasped, watching in apprehension as two other Dragons and several bony hands began rising from the ground. Sheesh! They just got done fighting the _last_ zombies! How many more were there?!

The ground shook again, this time so hard they had to hold onto each other for fear of falling over. Some twenty feet away, a gargantuan orange globe was rising from the dirt. Miho paled: she remembered this monster...their old underclassman Bonz had gone to tournaments with that thing: Pumpking, the King of Ghosts! And the zombies were rising...little bars appeared above each,

"Brace yourselves!" Duke cried out. "This is going to be our toughest fight yet!"

**. : Group 6: Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine, Odion Ishtar, Yami Bakura : .  
** _**Field: Dark Sanctuary** _

"So, Mai...since when do you do video game testing?" Yami asked, moving forward through the maze of barbed plants and shrieking flowers.

"Only when I can get a good battle out of it," she answered. "Back in March, KaibaCorp contacted me and said they needed an experienced Duelist to help run preliminary trials for the opening of a complex virtual attraction. Most of it was done in New York, but we had to come out here to the actual site to work out the last-stage glitches." She frowned.

"I _know_ Kaiba and Rebecca found them all. There wasn't a hole left the last time I ran through this thing, and then Kaiba ran through it, himself," she said.

"Kaiba has no shortage of enemies—we all know that," Odion commented. "The question is, why here and now?"

"I wish I could tell you," Mai said. "I've been wracking my brain myself trying to remember if anything strange happened, but…nothing stands out. And over a _game?_ Why sabotage a game _now?_ Why not during one of our test runs?"

"Maybe that would have been too easy," Yami suggested. Joey exchanged a look with Odion.

"They _did_ have that freak a few months ago who went after Mokuba," he said. " _He_ was caught, but…"

"And the one who caused his 'accident'," Odion asked. Mai squinted.

"You think they're related to each other?"

"It may be, or it may not be." Yami shrugged.

"Kinda hard to tell at this point," Joey said. "The guy has so many enemies he's made…still, something to consider. Can't rule it out, either."

" _Schreeeeee! Schreeeeee!"_

"Look out!" Yami shouted.

"Those are Dark Chimeras...we shouldn't be encountering those yet!" Mai shouted.

"And dere's more of 'em—look!" Joey pointed, and Yami growled.

"Oh no they don't! Dark Necrofear...lay waste to those beasts!" Without a sound, she leapt at the first of the dragon-like fiends and shattered it.

"Giant Rex, attack!" Odion commanded. He exchanged a smirk with Yami: whomever had thrown them into _this_ Field had _no_ idea who they were dealing with! Beside him, Mai drew another card and _also_ smirked. She rammed the card into her Duel Disk.

"I Equip my Harpy Lady with Cyber Shield!" Mai called out. "Return that thing to the darkness where it belongs!" Three down...one to go.

"And I Summon _Cyber_ Harpy Lady in Attack Mode!" Joey called out. "Get 'em!" He pointed, and the monster let out a determined shriek as she destroyed the final Chimera. The group breathed a sigh of relief as Mai turned to Joey with a curious look.

"A Harpy monster?" she asked, and he nodded.

"She did me good in da Virtual World...I thought I should add her to my Tournament Deck!" he said, smiling brightly at the blonde. "But I never would've picked her if not for you showin' me what dese gals were made of, Mai!" She blushed and looked away.

"Well, I'm...glad I could help, then," she finally said. Joey bent so he could see her face.

"It's good to have you on our team, Mai," he said. He sobered a little, though the smile remained on his face. "It's good to have you _back_. I hope you'll stay awhile." In spite of herself, a smile crept over her face.

"...I'll...think about it," she said at last.

**. : Group 7: Atem 'Muto' (Pharaoh Atem/Yami Yugi), Mana 'Muto', Rebecca Hawkins : .  
** _**Field: Vampire Kingdom** _

"I'm _really_ sorry, Pharaoh," Rebecca said regretfully, as Mana tied a piece of her scarf around Atem's arm. Both smiled at her.

"It's not _your_ fault, Rebecca," Atem said. "It is as I said to Yugi: I have faced much worse."

"If Atem hadn't grabbed you, you might have lost an eye—or worse," Mana added. "Modern medicine is quite something; they even have things to numb the skin so the stitches don't hurt as much. Atem will be just fine."

"Merely a flesh wound," he quipped, winking at the bespectacled 15-year-old. Mana cupped Rebecca's chin in her hand, much as she had done to her own daughter so many centuries ago.

"Don't fret, okay?" she said. "We're going to make it out of here."

"I know." That wasn't the part that Rebecca worried about; they had a strong team. Yugi had a strong team. His _grandfather_ had a strong team. From what she knew of the others, _most_ of them had strong Duelists in their groups. Perhaps Tristan's and Duke's had the most vulnerable members, but they had experienced ones, too. And Serenity was _smart_ ; if she didn't know how to Duel as well as her brother, she certainly knew enough to _support_ Duke and Mr Lector.

"You're having a bit of a rough day all the way around, aren't you?" Mana asked gently, and Rebecca wiped her eyes a little.

"I'll be okay," she insisted, and Atem and Mana exchanged a Look. They knew from Yugi _and_ Téa how much their going steady had affected the young Rebecca. She had actually borne up quite well, considering how much she'd fawned over him in his high school days: she had congratulated both of them and wished them happy wishes. But her emails to Yugi became understandably less frequent, and she had not been able to give Téa much more than 'Happy Birthdays' or holiday greetings (whatever holiday they happened to be nearing at the time).

Both Yugi and Téa felt badly for the girl and had done their best to communicate that their friendship was still available _and_ wanted. Certainly, she had her faults...but so did they all. She was a good person, and had contributed in her own ways to saving the world. Both Atem and Yugi were of the feeling that in reality she was very lonely. Being so intelligent and gifted so young had a way of putting a person at odds with their direct peers. It was something Mokuba and Leon both understood in a way...why both of them had and still did prefer the company of older people like Yugi and Marik and their brothers. As an only child, Rebecca had not even had that...and she was still rather awkward when it came to human-human interaction that did not involve chipping away at an opponent's Life Points. Much like Kaiba in high school—and some days even _now_ —friendship, _true_ friendship, was something rather foreign to her.

But they were _learning,_ Atem thought confidently, proudly. Kaiba had indeed made significant strides after his accident, realizing that not _every_ relative would betray him and not every 'friend' was only interested in his money. Rebecca was learning to put others before herself...that she had followed through on her grandfather's advice to congratulate Yugi and Téa reflected that. She was learning, despite her personal disappointment.

"Rebecca...did Yugi ever tell you _how_ Atem and I married? Why?" Mana asked, and Rebecca shook her head.

"No…" she sniffed, wiping at her eyes again. "What about… 'why'?"

"To enable Atem to have an heir," Mana said, and the teenage girl knitted her eyebrows.

"...You two... _don't_ love each other?" she asked in confusion. They certainly _seemed_ comfortable in each other's company. Not two weeks ago she had witnessed Atem winning a giant stuffed Kuriboh and presenting it to Mana as a gift. Just now, she had bandaged her husband's wound with all the tenderness and concern of a devoted wife. They didn't... _love_ each other?

"We _do_ love each other," Atem corrected gently, taking Mana's hand. "Very much, in fact. But as _friends_ , as family. Neither Mana nor I had brothers or sisters growing up; they all died young, and I didn't know Seto was my cousin until a week before my death. We certainly didn't grow up together." Rebecca frowned; even though it was in the past, she still didn't like to think of Atem _dying._

"Our marriage, in essence, _was_ one of 'convenience'," Mana said. "Even so...there's an intimacy between us that we don't have with anyone else. I carried _his_ daughter...I birthed _our_ child. Pharaoh or not...I couldn't have a better man for a husband.

"When he returned to us in the Afterlife...after three-thousand years of waiting...I admit I was kind of worried he might want somebody else. Even though we aren't _in_ love as most people today would imagine...it wouldn't have been _easy_ for me to let him go. But as his _friend_ , I should want what's best for him."

"...Even if that doesn't include you, is what you're saying," Rebecca commented, a sallow smile appearing on her face. She looked away.

"Not exactly," Mana responded. "You _do_ like Yugi as a friend, too, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"As Atem said...before he knew Seto was his cousin, we and Mahad were the closest each other had to siblings. Yugi and Téa will be like that for you, if you'll let them. I know they've both said that they want to stay friends with _you_ ," Mana told her. Rebecca looked up, surprise and embarrassment on her face.

"...They do?"

"Of course," Atem said, gentle amusement in his tone. "They've expressed such desires to us and Solomon on many occasions. Not a person here faults you for being so admiring of Yugi. But Serenity's and Duke's case is an unusual one. You are awfully young yet, and there are _many_ young men here who would make good life companions. Keep your heart open, Rebecca...you have _plenty_ of time to make that kind of decision. In the meantime, I know neither Yugi nor Téa have _any_ desire to cut you off or out." He chuckled. "Honestly...I don't know that either has it in them to do so." At this, Rebecca let out a chuckle herself.

"No," she said, thinking fondly of how genuine Yugi was. No, that wasn't fair—Téa, too. "No...they probably _don't_ have it in them." Atem stood up, then turned and offered each lady a hand. To his surprise, Rebecca glomped him.

"Thank you," she said, brushing more tears away. Family...Yugi could be good family. Atem hugged her back.

"Of course." Rebecca turned to Mana, ducking her head.

"You too," she said...and to _her_ surprise, the Egyptian woman reached out and held _her_. A mother's hug...something she had not had in a very long time.

"Come," Atem said, after Rebecca pulled away. "Let's get ourselves out of this place."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

_With the exception of Crump, the English_ given _names of the Big Five are not canon; LuckyLadybug came up with them and uses these names in her own universe. (Crump's English given name is canon.)_

-Charles Gansley/Konosuke Oshita

-Démas Lector/Kogoro Daimon

-Robert Nesbitt/Soichiro Ota

-Adrian Randolph Crump III/Shuzo Otaki

-Thomas Johnson/Chikuzen Oka

_Again, most of the details surrounding these five characters and Yami—including Lector's being from New Orleans—I have borrowed from her with her blessing. She's the one who developed them from minor villains to full, rounded characters (and her stuff is awesome so go read it. You'll forget they were ever minor characters, too!)._

I have literally no idea when I will finish or post the next chapter of this story. This chapter was WAAAAAY more work than I thought it was going to be and I struggled a lot with it. I'm a little burnt out from having to look up so many cards so many times!

—Yes, I _am_ still headed toward Replayshipping and Azureshipping. But Rebecca has some growing up and maturing to do first, and Téa has to sort a few more things out. Those won't happen in _this_ story, but rather this is a set-up for future fics.

—The monsters and cards characters use are all ones they have actually been shown using in the animé and/or various games.

—The "Temperaments" for Duel Monsters are indeed based on the Natures from _Pokémon_ games ;) "Shy" = "Timid"; "Feisty" = "Sassy". I'll add more as is necessary XD

—The music in question that Tristan complains about is the _U.S._ music track to Toon World, which of course plays both during Kaiba's duel with Pegasus _and_ Yugi's whenever Pegasus summons it to the field. Both the Japanese and the U.S. tracks are available on YouTube...say what you will about 4Kids, but I personally find the U.S. track far more expressive. It's far more menacing, despite its more 'cartoony' sound! In short, it encapsulates the dichotomy of Pegasus' character perfectly. I don't love Pegasus, but I _definitely_ love his Deck! XD

—Dark Rabbit is not technically a Toon, but it is in Pegasus' deck and he says he based it on his favorite cartoon as a kid. So for purposes of this story I counted it among Toon World's inhabitants.

_Music:_

"Big Boss"— _Yoshi's Island_ OST (Koji Kondo): [https://youtu.be/Q--ywLM84Ng](https://youtu.be/Q--ywLM84Ng)  
"Mini-Boss"— _Yoshi's Island_ OST (Koji Kondo): [https://youtu.be/JSBTSW_B81Y](https://youtu.be/JSBTSW_B81Y)  
"Toon World (English Version)"— _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ series: [https://youtu.be/zprs1qqXxIg](https://youtu.be/zprs1qqXxIg)


End file.
